Britomart project
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The historic land, 1700-1959
Britomart
location and heritage
The Britomart precinct is 5.2 hectares of land located in Auckland City's central business district (CBD). The area is defined by Britomart Place through
to Lower Albert Street, and Quay Street through to Customs Street.
The Britomart area was originally part of the Waitemata Harbour, a seabed in the middle of Commercial Bay. The Britomart area was a large reach of water
between Britomart Point and the Hobson Street ridge. Auckland's foreshore continued along todays Britomart Place, Fort
Street and Fanshawe Street. The most prominent
coastal feature on the site was Point Britomart, which reached far out into the harbour along what is now Britomart Place.
The precinct hosts a number of Maori heritage sites that date back to the 17th and 18th century. The Britomart site was an abundant
resource for the Auckland isthmus and many battles were waged for its control. A Maori pa (meeting house) once stood on Britomart Point and overlooked the
harbour. Te Rerenga Ora Iti (Leap Of The Few Survivors) is one such name that commemorates two battles fought between Ngati Whatua and others in both the
17th and 18th centuries, the most recent being 1822. Te Rou Kai (The Food Gathering) refers to a pipi bank formerly located between
Point Britomart and the mouth of the Wai Horotiu stream, which sustained the nearby Horotiu papakainga or village.
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Pictured (right): Britomart Point 1840-1849. Looking south-west from the water, showing Mechanics Bay (left ), Official Bay (left), Point
Britomart (right of centre) and Commercial Bay (right). Auckland Public Libraries collection.
Pictured (left): 1844. Looking east from Smales Point across Commercial Bay towards Point Britomart, showing Shortland Street (diagonally through centre),
Fort Britomart and St Paul's Church (on the skyline), and Fort Street along the foreshore and canoes on the beach. Auckland Public Libraries collection.
Britomart
Britomart is a word that is woven into British history and early New Zealand colonialism. HMS Britomart was a brig-sloop, one of 101 vessels of the
Cherokee class, built at Portsmouth in 1820. The ship was 237 tons, armed with 10 guns and was sold at Singapore in 1843. Britomart was the name given to
the daughter of King Ryence of Wales and she has been described as the impersonation of saintly chastity and purity of mind (1500). The word Britomart also
comes from a mythological Cretan goddess Britomartis.
In 1840 Commander Owen Stanley, the eldest son of the Bishop of Norwich, was in command of HMS Britomart. Born in 1811, he had entered the Royal Navy in
August 1824, and was appointed in command of the vessel on 21 December 1837 with the rank of Lieutenant. Commander Stanley was promoted to the rank of
Commander in 1839, relinquishing command on 27 April 1846. He died in Australia, while in command of another surveying vessel, HMS Rattlesnake, in 1850.
HMS Britomart was one of several ships engaged in a major hydrographical survey project directed by Admiralty. In June 1840 the ship departed Sydney,
arriving in the Bay of Islands on 2 July 1840. Some surveying was carried out at the entrance to the bay, before Commander Stanley was despatched to Akaroa in
order to forestall any potential disturbances after the arrival of a French warship there. Having sailed from the Bay of Islands on 23 July 1840, bad weather
lengthened the voyage south and it was not until 10 August 1840 that Britomart arrived at Akaroa. After an uneventful stay the ship returned to the North
Island.
After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Governor Hobson began the search for a suitable site for the capital of the new colony. In March 1940 he
decided that the southern side of the Waitemata Harbour was the best available. HMS Herald completed the first survey of Auckland Harbour in February 1840,
establishing many of Auckland's harbour names. The survey chart named one of the points on the northern shore Observation Point, however this was later
changed to Stanley Point by the Hobson's Surveyor General, Felton Mathew, after the Captain of HMS Britomart.
On 18 September 1840 Captain Hobson and his party landed at Britomart Point, where the British flag was raised and a gun salute fired. HMS Britomart
arrived in October 1840. The officers were employed on a detailed survey of the Waitemata, it was as part of this survey that the ship's name was bestowed
on Britomart Point. In respect of what is now Stanley Point, Captain Stanley simply annotated it Second Point.
In 1841 Auckland was chosen as the capital of New Zealand. Its status as the capital, together with its natural physical amenities, undoubtedly helped
the city grow in trade, shipping, population and commercial influence, and added to its importance as a major city.
Information provided by the Royal New Zealand Navy Museum.
Fort Britomart
Fort Britomart was established during the 1840s and 1850s on Point Britomart, to bring order to the growing city.
Reclamation
Auckland's commercial centre was established along Queen Street and the waterfront, which was then defined by present day Fort
Street. The physical limitations
imposed by the Queen Street valley prevented growth of the CBD, which was solved in the 1860's by reclamation of the harbour.
The reclaimed land was part of a staged reclamation scheme undertaken by the Auckland Harbour Board (AHB). Although the government began the reclamation,
the work was taken over by a private contractor and completed in 1883.
A stone retaining wall was erected to define the outer limit of the reclamation. Fill was concurrently obtained from Point Britomart and across Official
Bay to the east. The combined reclamation altered the appearance of the foreshore considerably, and allowed for deeper moorings for ships and the continuation
of rail beyond Britomart Point to the Queen Street Station.
Historic buildings
In 1882 the reclaimed land on the Britomart site became available for sale.
Warehouses and stores were erected in Customs Street to provide storage, distribution and the export and import of goods servicing a variety of businesses. The
area became the principal focus of warehousing and trade in the city.
The following buildings are registered in the Auckland City Operative District Plan (Central Area) as historic buildings:
- The Northern Steamship Company was established on Thursday 12 May 1881. They opened the Northern Steamship Co. Building, 120-124 Quay
Street on 19 May 1899.
The building cost £6,000 to construct and provided office space and stores. A third level to the building was added in 1921, which provided office space
and a laundry.
- The Nathan family was one of the first merchant families in New Zealand, they first established operations in the Bay of Islands. Arthur Hyam Nathan
successfully bid at auction for the land at 40-46 Customs Street, erecting the A.H. Nathan Building in 1903. The business sold a range of goods such as shirts,
foodstuffs, clothing, guns and many other items of general merchandise. The business continued to expand, supplying coal to the American naval flotilla,
and becoming the agent for the Columbia Gramophone Company. A new street façade was later added to the building to disguise the prosaic cart dock
entrance.
- Andrew Jack Entrican arrived in New Zealand in 1880 from the north of Ireland. Andrew and brother James established Messrs A.J. Entrican and Company, and
successfully bid at auction for the land at 36-38 Customs Street. The Australis House was erected in 1904 at a cost of £10,000. This building operated as
a large warehouse for storage of goods and produce, and as a shop front for the company's customers. Andrew Entrican served several terms as a city
councillor and was Auckland Deputy Mayor for 21 years.
- Union Fish Company Building, 116 Quay Street.
- Wharf Police Station Building, 102 Quay Street.
The following buildings are other old buildings established on the Britomart site:
- Barrington Building, 10 Customs Street
- Old Sofrana House, 14 Customs Street
- Levy Building, 20 Customs Street
- Excelsior House, 22 Customs Street
- Stanbeth House, 26 Customs Street
- Masonic House / Buckland Building, 30 Customs Street
- Britomart Service Station, 48 Customs Street
- Hipkins and Coutts Building, 50 Customs Street
- Charter House, 54 Customs Street
- Kiwi Tavern, 3 Britomart Place
- MSAS Building, 130 Quay Street
- Seafarers Centre, 110 Quay Street
- Quay Building, 106 Quay Street
- Alltrans House, 104 Quay Street.
Queen
Street railway station
The railway station on Queen Street opened 30 November 1885 on the Britomart site. The building of Queen Street Station attracted little architectural
recognition in the city, partly because of its obscure location and small-scale construction.
The Queen Street Station was a two storey brick building with a central tower. The building did not front Queen
Street, but may have been designed to allow the
extension of the rail beyond Queen Street. With the increased services coming into Queen Street Station, the old arrival platform was demolished, and two new
island platforms with shelters put into place, giving a total of six platform faces, including the old dock platform and main departure platform.
Lower Queen Street was a hive of activity with trams, trains and ferries that brought people into the downtown area.
The railway line was planned to be extended beyond Queen Street and connect to the western line. With the expansion of Auckland's business district along Queen
Street, new development prevented expanded rail development beyond Queen Street.
Chief Post Office
In 1901 the general manager of the Railways Department suggested that the land between Auckland Station platform and Queen
Street be used to build a public
building to centralise the various public offices of the city. In 1904 the railway chief engineer disagreed, believing that the land was likely to be
required in the future to build a new railway station on the Queen Street frontage.
The decision to build the Chief Post Office (CPO) in 1909, on land taken by the government from the Railways Department was to have dire consequences for
the future of passenger rail transport in Auckland.
Prime Minister William F Massey opened the CPO on 20 November 1912. It was situated on railway land that obscured the Queen Street Station from Queen Street.
A crowd of 8,000-10,000 people attended the opening ceremony, which was evidence of its significance to Aucklanders.
The grand CPO was built of Coromandel granite and Oamaru stone and was the hub of the city, an important state building and meeting place. The CPO became
so busy that it lacked space to sort mail and parcels. In 1937 the Public Works department built a three story art deco Annexe behind the CPO. The building
was designed with mail shoots running between floors and operated successfully for almost 60 years, providing employment for thousands of people.
Ornamental arches standing on both sides of the CPO led to the Queen Street Station. Controversy surrounded the building of the arches. Railway
engineers said they would restrict traffic, Post Office officials said they would add to the beauty of the CPO and conceal the practical buildings behind
the Post Office. In the early 1930s, after the completion of the Beach Rd railway station, the railway department decided to demolish the arches. Despite
appeals to the then Prime Minister from Post Office officials and the Public Works Department, a demolition contract was let for £144. The work took three
months to complete.
For many years the CPO was situated at the confluence of Auckland's transport systems. The old railway station, the ferry building and the tram terminus
brought thousands of people past and through the CPO each day.
Auckland's CPO occupied an important site not only physically but also socially and politically. On 24 October 1912 the first major service to be located
in the CPO was Auckland's radio wireless, on the roof of the CPO, providing contact with ships at sea. Queen
Street wharf was still important to the city, with
ships unloading goods from Great Britain and new immigrants arriving to start a better life. The CPO handled banking, mail, telegrams and pension payments.
There was an electoral office where Ministers of Parliament conducted business in a ministerial room set aside for this purpose. The state used the building
for storing extra police uniforms during World War I and installed racks for rifle storage.
Important social events took place outside the Post Office. During the waterfront strike on 13 November 1913, mounted constables stood outside the CPO
barring access to the wharves. The following year World War I started and men arrived by train behind the CPO and departed on ships moored on the wharves.
In 1920 the Post Office was decorated in honour of the visit of the Prince of Wales. During World War II crowds gathered outside to welcome the arrival of
the Achilles Fleet. Every Christmas until 1970 the Post Office was decorated and crowds also gathered there to welcome in the New Year.
The last major event to take place in front of the Post Office was in December 2000 when a big screen television was erected outside in Queen Elizabeth
Square for the lead up to and during the America's Cup. Visitors and office workers sat on the ground in the sunshine watching events unfold and being
entertained by bands and street performers. When the Italian team Prada won the Louis Vuitton Cup, they brought over a group of Italian flag wavers from a
village in Italy who performed in the square to the delight of the public. Auckland City also hosted a number of free summer events, and many were held in
Queen Elizabeth Square. Dancing in the street was the last public gathering to take place before the CPO was closed for refurbishment.
New Zealand Post separated into three state owned enterprises on 1 April 1987. Auckland serviced 114 post offices and was replaced by three district
post offices. In 1988, Post Bank offices moved out of the CPO building. For six years the CPO languished and decayed as street kids broke in and started
living in the top level of the building. One cold winters night they lit a fire to stay warm and caused major damage throughout the top floor as the fire
took hold of the building. The CPO also received significant water damage when the fire was extinguished.
Security guards were engaged to patrol the building, and pigeons became occupiers, gaining access through broken windows. Even after the CPO reopened
with a display centre on the ground floor, pigeons and street people continued to come and go. Staff would try to coax pigeons out of the building
using birdseed but were not always successful, as numerous dead pigeons testified, because of the many inaccessible places they retreated to.
The Chief Post Office in 1921. On the left the Endeans Building and to the right the old Waverly Hotel (now the Mercure Hotel). On both sides of the CPO
are the ornamental arches, which were later demolished. Auckland Public Libraries Collection.
Leonard John Keys
Leonard John Keys owned a grocer's shop on the corner of Clonbern Road and Remuera Road. He delivered groceries by horse and cart to customers in Remuera
and the waterfront suburbs. He purchased a bus in 1914 to start the first bus service in the area. A garage depot was opened in St Heliers. L.J. Keys buses
departed from the front of the CPO until the Britomart bus terminal was built in the 1930s.
Beach Rd railway station
The new Auckland Railway Station opened in 1930 in Beach Road. The grand Beach Road railway station was criticised for its isolation, only recently has the
architecture come to be better appreciated. Comment from the public news in 1932 felt that it was ironic that the railway grid of the nation should fail
Auckland on the last kilometre - yet it was that short, downtown connection which could put Auckland public transport back on the rails.
Britomart bus terminal
The Auckland Municipal Bus Station opened in September 1937 between Commerce Street and Britomart Place. The New Zealand Herald called it modern and
well planned. The on street bus terminal was located between Commerce Street, Galway Street and Britomart Place. Gore Street and Britomart Place were the
main entrances and exits for buses using the terminal, with Gore Street closed to traffic. A public space with trees, seats and rubbish bins was created.
Britomart car park
New Zealand's first municipal carpark opened on the Britomart site on 11 September 1958, at a cost of £287,000. On the first day of business, the 465
carparks were full by 10.30am, the charges were nine pence an hour.
End of an era
After the railway station was transferred from lower Queen Street to Beach Road it was criticised for its inconvenience and distant location. New movie
theatres were constructed closer to the Town Hall and as lower Queen Street became less fashionable, the area went into gradual decline. The decline
continued after World War II, assisted by the phasing out of trams in the mid 1950s and the decreasing reliance on Harbour ferries, after the Harbour
Bridge was opened in 1959.
